former Secretary for Justice, Ms Elsie Leung. In 1999, Ms Elsie Leung refused to prosecute Sally Aw over the circulation fraud at The Standard. Apprehension Officers being Monitored Under Article 28 of the Basic Law, strictly speaking, when a police officer or government agent stops a pedestrian or a car on the street, the officer indeed actually limits and restricts the person's freedom at the very precise moment he or she stops the person. Thus, the officer is required by law to have some reasons in order to be lawful to stop someone on the street. If not, the stop will be considered as unlawful and the officer may be subject to civil lawsuit (tort). Using Section 54(1) of the Police Force Ordinance as an example, one can see how the law regulates and enables a police officer to simply stop a pedestrian. There is no doubt that the law is going to scrutinise every single move a government agent takes to arrest anyone. Power of arrest Many government departments and agencies, like the police force, ICAC, immigration officials etc., have the power to arrest a suspect. This power of arrest is granted and regulated by law. But before an officer can actually arrest anyone, he or she is required by law to request an arrest warrant from a magistrate. If not, the person been wrongfully arrested can sue the officer for damages. The procedure is to protect the public's freedom from the potential abuse of power. Apparently, this is impossible to ask every government agent to request a warrant before arresting anyone in every case, especially in an emergency. For example, it would not be feasible for a police officer to ask for a warrant first and then go back to the crime scene of a bank robbery to arrest the robber. Hence, the law is somewhat flexible when it comes to determining whether or not an arrest is lawful. Still, all is under the control of law. For instance, Section 50 of the Police Force Ordinance considers an arrest to be lawful even without a warrant if: Warnings Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance, Article 5(2) requires: This piece of legislation is for the purpose which ensures the person arrested fully understands that his freedom is restricted from that moment. It also prevents the person arrested from attacking the officers because of any misunderstanding. Thus, officers are required